


The Truth Behind The Lie

by daughter_of_the_fifth_house



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU, Academy area, Accident, F/M, Genderswap, Marriage Proposal, injured Jim, inspired by scenes from Gilmore Girls and Babylon 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-03-24 22:06:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13820385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daughter_of_the_fifth_house/pseuds/daughter_of_the_fifth_house
Summary: Cadet Jim Kirk is sometimes very careless. His best friend Leah McCoy knows that and tries to cope with it. The things you do for (supposedly unrequited) love...When Jim is in a terrible accident and she's not allowed to treat him or even to learn how bad his condition is, she tricks his doctor and pretends to be his fiancée. Jim plays along. But what if at some point it's not a game anymore?





	1. Stupid ideas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewatching "Gilmore Girls" recently gave me an idea. Logan Huntzberger and Rory Gilmore reminded me a little of Jim Kirk and Bones. Well, a female Bones. So... this fic is loosely based on a scene/events with Logan being in the hospital after an accident (episode 6x20).
> 
> There's also a little inspiration by "Babylon 5" and Commander Susan Ivanova. Susan and Captain John Sheridan are friends and he shows up in her quarters at night, not noticing she's in her nightgown, because he's excited about some idea and drags her with him after she has changed (episode 4x11).

When loud knocking at the door of her single dorm room in the medic building woke Starfleet Cadet Leah McCoy in the middle of the night she knew instantly who had to be outside. There was only one man who dared to do something like this. Also, the yelling "Bones, come on, open up!" was kind of a dead giveaway.

"Leave me alone", she murmured, but knew that James T. Kirk would not give up.  

Another knock. "Bones, it's me!"

She turned and cursed into her pillow, but got up anyway. She contemplated putting on a bathrobe, but decided not to bother. So she went to the door wearing shorts and a tank top, the long dark hair ruffled.

"Lights at 30 percent", she ordered the computer while walking in the dark, but regretted it instantly. Even low light was to bright.

Leah wondered if Jim even knew what time it was. "Unbelievable..." she mumbled when she opened the door.

A very excited James Kirk grinned at her and walked past her with fast steps. She didn't even notice how he eyed her sparely clothed figure, while closing the door behind him.

"Bones, have you ever done skydiving? We're planning a trip. Actually we're leaving in an hour. You should come with us. It'll be amazing!" he started talking fast and way to cheery and awake.

She just stood there and waited until he was done talking. She crossed her arms and gave him an annoyed glance.

"Come on, grab a jacket and let's go", he gestured and turned back to the door.

"Jim!"

"Yeah?" He turned around again.

Leah shook her head in disbelief. "Aside from me absolutely not doing anything that dangerous and stupid... don't you think I should change first when I leave my room? At 4.22 a.m. After being awoken by a very noisy and annoying man?" She glared at him.

"Oh, uh, yeah... right", Jim stuttered, looking at her state of dress. Or rather undress. Trying to keep his eyes from her tank top. "Sorry, I hadn't noticed." He shrugged, hoping she wouldn't catch his lie. Of course he'd noticed. He always did pay attention. He just didn't admit it.

Leah rolled her eyes and was about to turn to her wardrobe, when she fully realized his words. "What do you mean you didn't notice?" She put her hands at her hips and shook her head again. "Okay, granted, you don't have any interest in me and I don't have any interest in you." She blushed a little, because that last part wasn't entirely true. But she wouldn't admit it to herself, let alone to anybody else. Especially to womanizer Jim Kirk. "But when you barge in here in the middle of the night the least you could say is 'Sorry, did I wake you?' or say that I look nice. Despite being rudely awakened by you and therefore looking terrible." She glared at him, thankfully somehow managing not to blush. Not that he'd never seen her like this, but she only remembered now that she wasn't wearing a bra under her tank top. And it wasn't exactly warm in the room.

Jim stared at her for a moment, trying to keep his eyes off her chest. "Nice outfit, Bones."

Leah strengthened her glare. "Dammit, Jim", she cursed and mumbled some words he didn't understand. "Men, it's always the same..." She went to her bed and got under the blanket.

"Is that an invitation?" He winked at her.

"Out!" She replied automatically, suppressing that little voice inside of her that would have wanted to say yes. Where did that come from anyway?

"So, you don't wanna go skydiving with us?" He picked up his earlier question.

"Out!"

And he left.

"Computer, lights out."

The room went dark again. Leah turned on her back and stared at the ceiling. She tried to decide which idea was more stupid - Jim's dangerous trip or her unwillingly romantic thoughts about him.

Moments before falling asleep she declared skydiving the winner. For Jim was Jim. But she was confident that her mind was stronger than her heart.

 

***

 

In the morning, Leah was still furious. Though she didn't know if it was, because that episode in the night was typical for Jim Kirk and she was simply angry at him... or if it was, because it was getting more and more difficult to keep herself away from her feelings... or if she was angry that he was on his way to do something dangerous again. Maybe it was all at once.

After lunch she got some messages and pictures from him about how great the skydiving was and that they'd go to higher altitudes for more kicks. He even considered some basejumping, too. She texted him her usual warnings back and asked him to be careful.

She got some more pictures the next morning.

Then no more reply.

In the evening her communicator beeped. She took the call without looking where it came from.

"This is Leah McCoy."

"Good evening Miss McCoy, this is Nina Hayes from Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. You are listed as emergency contact for James Tiberius Kirk."

Leah froze at first. Her heart started to race. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "What happened?"

"Mr. Kirk was in an accident."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I figured as much since you're calling. How is he?" She got up and started gathering her things.

"I am only a nurse. I can't say anything about his condition. He is currently in I.C.U. He had surgery. It would be best if you came here."

"I'm on my way", Leah said and snapped her communicator closed. "Dammit, Jim..."


	2. Serious but stable

She would never tell him. But Leah McCoy had actually decided to beam to the hospital, despite hating it. She couldn't have endured a shuttle ride with thinking about how badly he must be injured. And she didn't even know how long he'd already been there until they called her.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for James T. Kirk", Leah said to a nurse without greeting her.

The woman just pointed her to another nurse.

"Excuse me, can you help me find Ja-"  
  
"Sorry, this isn't my floor", the nurse rejected her request without letting her finish the sentence.

Leah exhaled sharply and tried to suppress her anger. "Can _someone_ here help me to find Starfleet Cadet James Tiberius Kirk?" she asked very loudly and in a clearly annoyed tone.

A male nurse made eye contact. " He'll be transferred out of the I.C.U. in half an hour in a room on this station. He should have already been here, but there's a delay."

Leah sighed in relief and went to the man. "How is he?"

"Are you family?"  
  
"I'm his emergency contact. Also I'm a doctor and Starfleet cadet. Leah McCoy", she introduced herself.

"I'm sorry, Doctor McCoy, but since you're not family and not employed in this hospital all I can tell you is that he's unconscious and that he's in a serious but stable condition."

Lea tried to calm herself. She knew too well that those general words could mean a broad variety of things. "What does that mean, 'serious but stable'? As I said, I'm a doctor. Can you elaborate? Or let me take a quick look at his chart?"

The man shook his head. "Sorry."

"Do you know that he has several allergies?"

"That's..." the male nurse started. "Well, I guess I can say that much. One of his allergies is responsible for the delay."

Leah rolled her eyes. "They gave him the standard pain meds without checking if he's got allergies, didn't they? And now they're trying to get the mess under control."

"Possibly."

"Get me his doctor, please", Leah said as calm as she was capable. "And if you don't have his file from Starfleet Medical yet, I strongly suggest you request it _immediately_. The list of his allergies is dangerously impressive."

The man nodded. "Are you his physician?"

"Sort of."

The male nurse look at her in confusion.

"It's complicated. Starfleet..." She sighed. "I'm a trained doctor, but also a cadet. By the rules he's got officially one of the senior medical officers as physician. But I always treat him and no one knows him and his file as well as I do", she explained and could have kicked herself for it. She suddenly realized that she should've said yes and she would've gotten access to his chart. At least until his file from Starfleet Medical arrived and they would have seen the doctor's name in it.

"You'll have to wait a few minutes. The attending surgeon is with another patient right now. But Mr. Kirk's friends are over there. Maybe you want to talk to them?"

 _Hell yes_ , Leah thought, but held her anger back. She'd not accounted for them to run around. They hadn't called her, so she'd been under the impression that they were hurt, too. But apparently not. Leah just nodded to the nurse and went to the two cadets she barely knew. Andrew Burton and Michael Shaw.

Coming to think of it, she didn't even know how or why Jim went with them to do so crazy things in the first place. He had closer friends than them.

Leah glared at the cadets and they didn't dare to say anything at first. She grabbed them and shoved them into the next hallway. "What the hell happened? And why didn't you call me? He must be here for hours, but the hospital just commed me."

"That man is indestructible", Andrew said, obviously thinking it would calm her down.

It had the opposite effect. Leah kept quiet, but her glare got stronger.

"He dove headfirst off the cliffs and instantly spun out of control", Michael described. "Got totally disoriented, but managed to get his chute open."

"Bounced off every rock and crag in the park. Yet he still managed to stick the landing", Andrew added. "We gave him a 9.5."

"We had to deduct .5 for all the screaming and bleeding."

"Are you out of your fucking minds?!" Leah screamed now, not caring that they were in a hospital. "You think this is funny?!" She huffed and managed to intensify her already gloomy glare. "You're Starfleet cadets. And _friends_. You were supposed have his back and to watch out for each other! But no, everything's a big joke to you. Out! Just go. And pray that he'll be alright. If he's not, I swear, I'll make _personally_ sure that you get kicked out of the Academy. And that will even be the least of your problems when I'm done with you."

Without another word they left, but Leah heard Michael saying "Told you she's in love with him" to Andrew.

That comment turned the redness on her checks from anger to blushing. She saw some chairs and sat down to calm herself until the doctor would show up.

 

***

 

While waiting Leah looked anxiously around if she could see the nurses bringing Jim to a room. But an hour later she was still sitting in the waiting area and it nearly drove her crazy. She felt so helpless and was angry at the nurses. She'd tried again talking them into giving her more information. And she informed the Academy about the accident and that she'd stay with Jim until he could be transported to Starfleet Medical to San Francisco.

Finally they came. The doctor and two nurses accompanied a gurney with Jim to a room. Leah jumped up at once and hurried to them.

"Jim!" With her trained doctor's eyes she surveyed and accessed his injuries.

He was unconscious, but he could breathe on his own. A good sign. But he looked terrible.

"Miss... ?" The doctor asked.

She looked at him while they were moving into a room. " _Doctor_ Leah McCoy."

"Ah, I see. I'm Doctor Franklin. You're his emergency contact? And his physician, too? Or family?"

Leah was about to explain what she'd told the nurses, but before she could think twice about it, the words were out. "Actually... I'm his fiancée."

"Well, I imagine he's quite a hand full", the doctor chuckled.

Leah let out a short laugh. "Oh, you have _no_ idea..." She was glad, that Franklin didn't call her words into question. She wasn't really comfortable with that white lie, but she needed to know how bad the injuries were. She knew that she was the only one who cared about him or who would come to the hospital. His mother and his brother were somewhere off in the galaxy. She didn't know how to reach them and him having her made his first emergency contact spoke volumes.

The nurses settled everything in the room and Franklin checked Jim's vitals.

Leah watched every move and was tempted to adjust some screens, but restrained herself.

Finally Doctor Franklin turned to her and started explaining Jim's condition to her. "He was bleeding internally when the paramedics brought him in. They gave him the standard meds, because his friends knew anything about allergies. We realized that he's allergic and since we had nothing on file we took blood and tested every medicine before giving it to him. I don't think that I've ever had a patient like him... He has a partially collapsed lung, six broken ribs, a broken ankle, torn cartilage in both knees and a severe concussion." The doctor pondered for a moment, then handed Leah his PADD.

She sighed thankfully, took it and looked over everything for herself.

"He had surgery for the lung", Franklin went on. "We did a thoracoscopy, which is way less invasive than a thoracotomy, as you know. So he's out of immediate danger and we expect him to make a full recovery. We applied some regens on his body. But due to the trauma we need to be careful with the meds and stress to his body. The broken bones will have to wait until tomorrow. One step at a time. We'd like to keep him here for a few days, then he can be transferred to Starfleet medical."

Leah nodded. "Yes, as soon as possible. Until then I'd like to stay with him."

"I'm not sure if we can let you sleep here in the room. I'm going to have to check first."

Leah nodded again. The tension was leaving her body and she suddenly felt tired and a little shaky.

Franklin pulled a chair from the other end of the room to the bed and gestured her to sit down. "I need that back." He pointed to the PADD with the chart.

She gave it to him without another word and took Jim's hand into both of hers. "You idiot..." she whispered. "You could have died..." She felt tears building in her eyes.

She was so focused on Jim that she didn't notice the doctor and the nurses left the room.


	3. Awakening

It took almost 24 hours until Jim finally awoke. The nurses let Leah stay when they heard that she was his fiancée. She felt a little bad for lying to them, but she was really glad that no one questioned her presence, that she got instantly informed about changes and could even influence his medications.  For after two times nurses were about to give him something he was allergic to, she was able to talk Doctor Franklin into letting her take care of his meds. Also she adjusted the medical devices and improved the settings every time the doctors and nurses left the room. If they noticed they didn't say anything about it.

Leah did not really sleep. She was sitting next to the bed all night, holding Jim's hand and sometimes resting her head on the bed. He was healing fine, but it was unusual that he was unconscious that long. Leah was a bit worried and constantly checked his vitals.

When his fingers started to move she was suddenly fully awake, sighed in relief and struggled holding back tears.

His blue eyes opened and looked at her.

"Hey..." Leah whispered and managed a slight smile.

"Hey..." he answered hoarsely. "I think I'm hallucinating. You're holding my hand."

Still smiling she shook her head and squeezed his hand tenderly. "No hallucination..." she barely got out, kept his hand in one of hers and used the other one to get rid of the tears in the corners of her eyes.  She didn't care that he saw it. She was just glad that he was awake now.

Leah was tempted to call him names and tell him how stupid and dangerous his trip had been, but that wasn't necessary.

"I guess maybe base jumping with very little preparation wasn't the best idea", he admitted.

"You'll be fine", she said quietly. "You're gonna make a full recovery."

He looked at her in surprise. He'd expected her to get mad. But instead he felt her hand shaking a little. "I'm sorry, Bones." He groaned a little, for trying to move was a bad idea.

"Don't move", she told him and let now go of his hand to check in the screens.

"You look tired."

"And you look like crap", she gave back dryly. She couldn't help herself. Talking to him like she always did made her feel better. And him perhaps, too.

"How long have I been out?"

"A while. They brought you in this room 24 hours ago."

"Have you been here the whole time?" He stared at her, his eyes wide and putting the clues together - she looked tired, her clothes were wrinkled and her expression showed worry.

"Yeah... didn't want you to be alone. Best friends an' all", she replied and slipped a little into southern accent.

"Don't know what to say... What would I do without you?" He reached out for her and she took his hand. Maybe he could have thought of some funny and sarcastic remark. But this was not the time.

"Perhaps I should've gone with you. I could have stopped you. Andrew and Michael are complete morons."

Jim tried to shake his head and groaned again. "Don't know if it hadn't happened then. I wanted to show off. I knew it wasn't safe to jump from that cliff. And I was drunk... I was lucky I pulled my chute at all."

Leah didn't reply. Under normal circumstances she would be yelling at him right now. But something - still - held her back. This wasn't the first time that he was lying in a hospital bed with her sitting next to him. But usually he ended up under her supervision in Starfleet medical. And it had never been that severe. Now however...

"Well, hello there", suddenly a cheerful female voice chirped and startled them both.

Leah looked to the door. A nurse entered the room, bringing some meds for her to give Jim.

The nurse smiled. "I'm glad to see that you're awake, Mr. Kirk. Your fiancée was very worried about you and kept us on our toes to make sure nothing goes wrong because of your allergies."

 _Damn_ , Leah just thought and felt her stomach doing a flip. She'd totally forgotten to tell Jim about her little white lie. "Uhm..." she started.

Jim gave the nurse his usual flirty Jim-Kirk-grin, but reached out for Leah's hand again. "Yeah, she's the best."

"You make a great couple." The nurse smiled. "Get well soon, Mr. Kirk", she said and left.

Leah sighed and braced herself for what was to come now.

"So..." Jim drawled, giving her a broad smirk and keeping her hand in his. "Fiancée, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, but also sighed. "Sorry about that. They wouldn't tell me anything, because it's so complicated with Starfleet and civilian hospitals and because I'm not family. So, I... kinda made myself family. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I just..."

"I'm not complaining." Jim winked.

Leah blushed and was at a loss for words. Under normal circumstances such behavior from Jim would make her snap and saying something sarcastic. But her mind was blank. So, she kept quiet, just freed her hand, ran it through Jim's hair, placed a kiss on his forehead and took the meds the nurse had brought in.

Jim let her administer the hypos without one word.


	4. Better

Jim was in and out of consciousness for the next two days. Well, more out. He was healing fine, but the trauma to his body was huge. The regens didn't work as fast as they could have. Leah knew that was okay and happened sometimes. But she was anxious for him to be stable enough to be moved to Starfleet medical where she could attend better to him. For not all the nurses let her leeway to give him the meds. She also had to bargain hard being allowed to stay around the clock with him.

Now was the third night that Leah was sitting in the chair and resting her head next to Jim's hand on the bed. She was exhausted, but too stubborn to leave and get some real sleep. She knew that it would've been possible for the staff to put a second bed or a gurney into the room. But in the hope that she would leave at night, they didn't. She ignored that and stayed anyway.

Around 2 a.m. Jim woke up and looked around in the dark, slightly broken by the moonlight from outside.

"Bones..." Jim tried to sit up, but only managed partially. He looked at her - more or less - peaceful face. He knew by now that she wasn't going to leave, because she was way too worried about him. But he was worried, too. He knew what toll this situation had to be taking on her. No real sleep, all day in this room and crappy food. She had clothes to change with her and could take a shower in the adjoined bathroom, but that was about it. "Hey... Bones..." he whispered again, moved his hand and stroked gently over her cheek.

She stirred and moaned. She was sore from trying to sleep in this position. "Wha'...?" she drawled in thick southern accent, trying to get awake, but barely managing. "Jim?" She raised her head, hands propped on the mattress. "Ev'rythin' a'right?"

"Yeah, but you're wrecking yourself", he answered sleepily and laid back. "You need to get some real rest."

Leah blinked a few times and was more awake now. "Not until you're well enough to be moved to San Francisco." Hopefully tomorrow, she added in her mind.

As far as Jim was capable to do so he rolled his eyes and scooted over on the bed. "Come here."

She looked at him confused. "What?"

"You heard me", he replied and held her gaze. "Lay down. You need real sleep."

Leah shook her head. "No, the hospital bed's too small and I'd have to cuddle up against you. No good idea with your healing injuries."

"We'll manage. It's either that or I'll tell them that you're not my fiancée and they throw you out."

She opened her mouth to say something and tried to assess if he was kidding or serious - but she was so damn tired and sighed. "Fine... But I warned you if some of the pain should get worse."

Jim lifted the blanket, so she could slide underneath it. Leah laid down carefully and draped one arm over him. He put his left arm around her so she could rest her head on the right side of his chest.

She protested again due to his injuries. "I can't put that much of my weight on you."

"Yes, you can", he gave back. "My chest's almost healed. This side is alright."

Very, very carefully she snuggled to him and allowed herself to relax. "I'm sorry..."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About letting you go on this trip in the first place. I should have stopped you, Jim... I was just so busy being mad at you for showing up in the middle of the night like that and standing there in a very revealing top."

Leah felt something that could have been a slight chuckle, but Jim didn't reply. She felt his heart beat relaxing and breathing become even. She thought, he fell asleep again. Drifting to sleep herself she registered in the back of her mind that a hand started gently stroking her hair. And was that a kiss on her forehead?

"You couldn’t have stopped me, Bones", he whispered. "A team of psychiatrists with an arsenal of tranquilizer hypos couldn't have stopped me. I was going no matter what. It's all my fault. Please, don't feel guilty."

 

***

 

When Nurse Emma Hawthorne - one of the nice ones - entered the room in the morning to check on Jim Kirk and to bring his meds, she found them in the same position they'd fallen asleep. She smiled broadly, put the tray down on the bedside table and checked his vitals.

Better. A big improvement actually. And Emma knew exactly that the reason was laying in Jim Kirk's arms. He - well, both of them - were more relaxed than the days and nights before.

The nurse decided to let them sleep. With him getting better the hypos could wait for another hour.

She shushed the fellow nurse bringing breakfast in that moment. The two women left the food and the meds and went as quietly as they'd come in.

Leah awoke a few minutes later and felt rested. Well, at least more than the days before. It took her a few moments to remember that the warmth next to her was radiating from Jim Kirk. Under the blanket she felt his left arm around her waist and his hand resting on her hip. She liked it, she felt very comfortable.

Then she suddenly startled and feared she might have worsened some of his injuries. Carefully she popped herself up on the right elbow taking the weight of her head off his shoulder and chest. She surveyed his body and studied the screens around the bed. His vitals were pretty good.

She sighed in relief and a slight smile flashed over her lips.

When she was about to try getting up without waking him, he opened his eyes. The bright blue locked to her hazel.

"Morning", he whispered.

"Mornin'." She fully smiled now. "How are you feeling?"

"Would you believe me if I said much better and that the pain is almost gone?" It was the truth, but considering their nightly conversation he was not sure if she'd believe him.

Leah took another look at the screens and nodded slowly. "Actually... I do." She pointed at the display and discovered the new hypos. "And the nurses must think that also. They were here, but didn't wake us." She took one of the devices and put it at Jim's neck.

He flinched a little. Which made her smirk. Another sign that he was much better this morning.

She exchanged the tray with the meds for the other one with breakfast. "Eat. I'll go change and then look for the doctor. I think we could move you today to Starfleet Medical."

"And you?" His gaze didn't let her go. "You also need to eat something."

"I'll find something", she replied grabbing her bag and heading to the bathroom to make herself presentable. When she closed door behind herself she leaned against it, closed her eyes and exhaled with a sight. _Do_ not _fall in love with Jim Kirk!_ she ordered herself. She was glad he hadn't asked her how she slept. She would have probably blushed in fifty shades of red.

And she rolled her eyes at that epiphany. She had already fallen for him. Thinking back the last few days she realized that she knew, but just didn't want to admit it to herself. "Damn.. How the hell did that happen?" she murmured to herself.

After a few moments, Leah opened her bag and was about to change when some muffled voices on the other side of the door drew her attention.

"Ah, you're awake, Mr. Kirk", Nurse Emma Hawthorne greeted him. "I saw the two of you asleep earlier and decided to come back to give you the meds."

"B-... Leah did that already", Jim answered.

The woman giggled. "Figures. She must be a good doctor. I mean, of course, she would tend to you this devoted since she's your fiancée, but I see a lot of doctors come and go. She's in it with all her heart."

"That she is", Jim replied with pride in his voice. "I couldn't imagine a life without her."

"Yes, it's obvious how much you're in love with her."

"Yeah?"

Leah felt her heart stop for a second. She wondered if they knew that she could hear them. Well, the nurse maybe - but did she even know that Leah was in the bathroom? Jim had never been in here, so he might not realize that the door wasn't soundproof at all.

Emma chuckled. "You two are the talk of the floor. Some of the younger nurses are actually a little jealous, but don't tell that to Doctor McCoy."

"I won't." He laughed.

Leah leant against the door again and felt a little dizzy. Were they _that_ convincing? Or did Jim... ?

She heard the nurse leave and hurried changing her clothes. When she left the bathroom Jim seemed to have drifted off to sleep again. She was glad and went looking for Doctor Franklin.


	5. The bet and the kiss

Everything went smooth and fast. Doctor Franklin approved the transfer to San Francisco and Leah made sure that they were on their way within the hour.

She had banned all the thoughts about the overheard conversation until Jim was settled in at Starfleet Medical and she was in her hospital uniform. Leah was relieved to have everything under control and not having to depend on the unfamiliar doctors and nurses.

Leah adjusted Jim's treatment plan and his meds and made sure that she would be informed about the slightest changes in his vitals. He was better, but she didn't want to risk anything.

When she left Jim's room to get some meds Captain Christopher Pike and Doctor Philipp Boyce came around the corner. Leah clutched the PADD she has resting against her upper body. Although she didn't know what was going on - them showing up together made her stomach flip.

"Doctor McCoy", Pike greeted her.

Boyce just nodded.

"Captain. Doctor." She also nodded. "Are you here to see Jim? He's awake at the moment, but the meds will probably soon make him fall asleep again."

"Later. First we wanted to talk to you", Pike replied.

Leah still had a strange feeling. "Of course, I bring you up to speed about his condition."

Pike chuckled and exchanged a glace with Boyce who was suspiciously quiet. "We already received the files from Manhattan. They came along with a very interesting recommendation."

Leah just looked at him.

"Doctor Franklin had a lot of praise for the young Doctor who happens supposedly to be Jim Kirk's... _fiancée_ ", Boyce jumped into the conversation.

Leah went pale and tried to say something, but her mind was completely blank now. She just wanted to slap herself for suddenly being at a complete loss for words. Well, actually, there were some very colorful words in her mind. But she decided to hold them back in front of the captain and her supervisor. At least this time.

Pike laughed again. "I see."

"See what?" she managed to get out, now feeling the blush rising in her cheeks.

"You'll see."

She gave him a confused look and her hands grabbed a little tighter around her PADD. The urge to curse was strong. "Sir?"

"That little white lie aside", Boyce said now and changed the subject, "you did a good job over there in Manhattan. Those civilians are always a little careless when it comes to request the files of injured Starfleet personal. I don't want to imagine what could have happened with Kirk and his allergies if you hadn't been there. He did good in making you his emergency contact."

"Thank you, Doctor Boyce." Leah was still confused. Why did they bring up the thing about her pretending to be Jim's fiancée and then just let it go?

"So, carry on, Cadet", Pike told her.

"Yes, Sir." She started walking away and turned her head once, just to see them standing in front of the door to Jim's room. Then she went around the corner.

Pike chucked again when Leah was out of sight.

Boyce nudged him. "Stop messing with my best Doctor and turning her into a ... oh, don't even know what."

"Sorry, Phil." He laughed again. "It was way too easy. Did you see how she reacted? She's head over heels gone. I just hope he doesn't break her heart, when they get their shit together."

Boyce patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Chris. Emma Hawthorne, a former fellow student of my wife, is a nurse at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. If even half of what she tells is true this is going to be _very_ interesting." He grinned. "I think from now on there will be only one woman in Jim Kirk's life. He did not _once_ flirt with one of the nurses. There's more truth behind that little lie they may want to admit. But I bet they'll be a real couple before he gets released."

Pike tilted his head, evaluating Boyce's words. "Alright, I bite."

"Really, you wanna bet?" He laughed. "Against the boy?"

Pike laughed, too. "No. I think you're actually on the right track. But I bet, they're both way to stubborn to admit their feelings before he can go home."

"Wager?"

"If you win, I'll take you and the Mrs. out to a fancy dinner."

Boyce smirked. "Deal. And if you win, we'll take you and the lovely Commander Barrett to dinner."

Pike's eyes grew wide.

"Oh, please. I know that you're seeing your Number One."

Chris wanted to reply, but Boyce was already opening the door.

 

***

 

When Leah could be sure that Pike and Boyce were gone she returned to Jim's room. He was asleep and she checked the screens.

"Hey..." he suddenly said sleepily.

She looked at his face and smiled. "Hey."

"Pike and Boyce are weird today."

Leah chuckled. "Yeah. Did they ask you about me pretending to be your fiancée?"

"Surprisingly not..." he said, but his voice was getting hoarse and he barely managed to get out some words. "They dn't ev'n lect're me about b'ng reckless... stup'd... or wha'ever.."

"Shhh... sleep. I made a few changes in your meds. I'm sorry. You will be a little woozy and sleep more now. But that'll speed up the healing process. Franklin and his staff are not bad, but you could be better already if the treatment plan would have been different."

"You're the best... Bones..." Jim slurred and tried to keep his eyes open. "Woudn' k'nw wh' t' do w'th't ya..."

She stepped closer and gently stroked his hair from his forehead. "Sleep..."  She turned and was about to go, when his hand grabbed her wrist.

"D'nt 've..." he whispered and tried to scoot over, but was too tired.

Leah needed a moment to understand his words: _Don't leave_. "Not a good idea", she commented on his try to move on the bed. But it was also what she thought about laying down again next to him. "I..." She sighed. "Sleep now... I'll have to catch up on the shifts I missed. I'll be back in a few hours."

Leah wasn't sure if he'd heard everything. She noticed his breathing was even now and his vitals indicated that he was asleep. Slightly smiling she shook her head.

Against better judgment she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

She remained bent over him for a few moments, gave into a spur of the moment impulse and placed her lips feather light on his.

 _Bad idea_ , Leah told herself, when she walked away from the bed. "Dammit..." she whispered and sighed.


	6. An unexpected question

Leah returned after her shift to Jim's room carrying a bag. He stirred when she entered and smiled at her.

She smiled back. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. But much better. Must be quite a med cocktail I'm getting."

Leah went to him and checked his vitals. A nurse came in and handed her some hypos.

"Are they really necessary?" Jim protested.

"Yes", Leah just said.

"Fine."

Leah administered two hypos and placed one on the bedside table for later. Jim just sighed and tried not to flinch.

The nurse ignored Leah and gave Jim a flirty smile.  "How are you, Jim? Maybe we could go out when you're injuries are healed?"

Leah just rolled her eyes and suppressed a snarky comment. "Unbelievable..." she muttered. Even in hospital the women were hitting at Starfleet Academy's womanizer number one. Suddenly she missed New York, where no one knew his reputation. But to her surprise Jim didn't smile back at the woman.

"I don't think my fiancée would like that." Now he grinned and pointed at Leah. "And me neither. Sorry."

The nurse's eyes grew wide in absolute shock to hear words like _that_ from James T. Kirk. "Your fi-...? Oh... But you are... I..." She blushed and, still shocked, looked at the doctor.

Leah just gave her a glare with a - more or less - neutral expression.

"I better go now", the nurse finally said and left. "I'm sorry."

Jim chuckled.

Leah threw her hands in the air. "Jim, you can't just tell people that we're engaged. There will be rumors now."

He grinned. "Why? You did it first in New York, Bones."

"That was due to the circumstances."

"This is too." Jim held her gaze and there was something in the way he looked at her she hadn't really noticed before. It made her blush and a little dizzy.

"Wh... What do you mean by that?" Leah whispered. Her heart was beating a lot faster now. She knew that it was time to talk about what had happened in the civilian hospital. It was overdue, actually.

He smiled warmly and tried to find the right words. "What if... I like calling you my fiancée and telling people you're exactly that?... What if it could be... real?"

Leah's lips parted in surprise. She just stared at him and was at a complete loss for words. Although she'd overheard that one conversation in the New York hospital she'd never expected him to make a move. Especially not at Starfleet Medical and certainly not while he was recovering. Which meant not being physically able to act in his usual manor and let a seduction follow his words. But then again - him asking _that_ was something really unexpected. So, apparently he was really in love with her?

Jim chuckled at Leah's expression that was accompanied by a blush. "And no", he spoke again. "That's not the meds speaking."

"I know..." she managed to get out.

"So..." He looked at her questioningly.

She crossed her arms and tried getting her usual annoyed Jim-Kirk-is-doing-something-insane-voice back. "Are you asking what I think you're asking? If so - you're absolutely crazy."

Jim laughed and locked their gazes again. "What's your answer?"

Leah shook her head and smiled. Yep, completely nuts. "Ask me again when you're discharged and had a good night sleep in your dorm room", she finally said. She knew a 'No' would have been the reasonable answer, because... well, this really, really was completely insane. And her own fault. But she couldn't bring it over her lips. But just for the record: The same thing went for a 'Yes'.

Jim looked at her with an unreadable expression and her brain just went into Oh-what-the-hell-mode.

"Damn it", Leah whispered to herself, stepped to the door, engaged the privacy setting and went back to the bed. She sat down on the edge, leant forward and kissed him.

He responded immediately, slid one hand around her waist and the other found its way to her neck pulling her closer. "Interesting kind of treatment. Do they teach that in med school?" he chuckled between kisses.

She pulled a little back and rolled her eyes. "Want me to stay or not?"

He smiled and sat up. "That's my Bones."

Leah sighed, but smiled then. When she stood up, he gave her a confused look. She took her bag and walked to the adjoining bathroom. "Scoot over. I'm back in a few. Just want to change."

Jim smiled and when she got back she was wearing long pajama pants and a long sleeved Ole Miss shirt. She took the last hypo and pressed it against the skin of his neck.

He flinched a little, but she placed a light kiss on his lips, then at the spot she'd hypoed him.

"Kissing it better, Doctor McCoy?" he teased. "Now that's a treatment I like."

She rolled her eyes again. "Computer, lights out." The room went dark and she slid under the cover next to him. "By the way, this is crazy. Everyone will talk about me spending the night with you here at Starfleet Medical."

"So let them talk." Jim welcomed her in his arms and sighed in content, when she snuggled against him. "As long as you're allowed to stay..."

"Well... it's not exactly hospital policy to let people stay with patients in their beds." She raised her head and smiled at him. "But no one would dare to make me leave."

"Who's playing the fiancée-card now?" he chuckled and, under the blanket, let his hand wander to the hem of her shirt.

"That was in New York. Here it is the one-of-the-best-doctors-card", Leah replied and hummed at the movements of his hands. "Jim..." she whispered in a mix of warning and moan. "You should sleep."

"I slept almost the whole day thanks to the meds you gave me." His hand wandered further under her shirt and roamed over her back.

She smiled and let her hand carefully slide over his chest avoiding the remainder of his injuries. She knew the meds would do their part and make him sleepy again. But until then she could enjoy what his hands were doing and how she could let wander her own. Which she couldn't believe - she was really making out with Jim Kirk in a hospital bed.

Now, laying here with him like this Leah started fully to realize what was happening. She was in a relationship with Jim Kirk now. Just like that. Wow.

"Bones?"

"Hm?"

"I was so stupid."

"We already talked about this."

"I don't mean the sky and base jumping. I mean my feelings for you. I know we sometimes behave like an old married couple. But I knew I started feeling more than friendship, but didn't want to admit it." Jim's hand left her back and found its way to her neck. He shifted so he had better access kissing her.

Leah gently ran her fingers over his check and felt him move again so he was laying on his side now. She wanted to protest, because she feared this was bad for his injuries.

"I'm fine," he breathed against her lips. "Can't lay all the time on my back anymore... Although - if you want to straddle my lap we can negotiate."

Leah snorted. So much for the meds making him sleep again. He was very much awake. And she felt him getting hard.  "Jim..." she whispered warningly. "We're not having sex in a hospital bed. Your body needs time to heal. If I'd known that you'd get all frisky, I'd gone home and-"

He cut off her rambling with kiss. "I love you."

"Whatever God or Gods there are, help me", Leah whispered. "Because I love you too, Darlin'." She kissed him and then carefully turned around so they could spoon.

Jim sighed in delight at the new angles of access his hands had now at her body.

She could practically hear him thinking about all the ideas now popping up his mind. "Sleep", she told him again, but drawled a slight moan when one of his hands found the way under her shirt again. It gently trailed up to her breasts and the touches made her unwillingly press herself against him.

"Not tired..." He trailed kisses on her neck and everywhere he found bare skin.

"But I am", she managed saying between moans. "It was a long shift and the last days I had not enough sleep. And you need to be careful with your healing injuries."

"Want me to stop?" he asked teasingly letting his hand slide down to her pajama pants and under the waistband.

Her only answer were some incoherent noises of pleasure and he chuckled against her neck.


	7. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little different. It shows what's going on in front of the door of Jim's room - and then what's happening behind the door at the same time.

_In front of the door_

 

"Have you seen, Doctor McCoy?"

The nurses at the main desk on the surgical floor looked to Doctor Philipp Boyce and shrugged.

"It's still 40 minutes until her shift starts", one of the nurses said.

Boyce crossed his arms. "Yes, but she's always an hour early."

Another nurse, holding an empty med tray, joined them.

"Elise, have you seen Leah McCoy?" her colleague asked. "She didn't arrive yet, did she?"

Elise put the tray down and looked at them confused. "How could she? She never left."

"What?" Boyce replied in surprise.

The nurses started to giggle.

Elise shrugged. "Doctor McCoy was with Jim Kirk the whole night. The privacy lock is still engaged, so she's still in there, I guess."

"I see..." Boyce successfully suppressed a grin thinking back at his and Chris Pike's conversation the day before. Well, of course this didn't have to mean anything for he knew of something similar from the New York hospital. But on the other hand - Jim Kirk was much better now. Was there a reason to stay with him over night?

The nurses whispered and Elise picked up the tray to fetch some more meds.

"Alright..." the doctor finally said. "Back to work, everyone. I'll look for her later." He left and was about to head to his office and call Pike when it occurred to him that he was way too curious. He simply had to find out first if there was something going on - or not.

So, Boyce went to Jim Kirk's room. He wondered how mean it would be to disturb them. He assumed they were still asleep or at least in bed, because the lock was still active. He could have used his authorization to override the code. But - no, he didn't want to go that far.

Boyce touched the com button next to the door. "Mr. Kirk, this is Philipp Boyce, are you awake?"

No reply.

"Cadet Kirk, rise and shine", he tried again.

A disapproving groan was the answer. "What?" Jim's voice sounded, accompanied by the ruffling of sheets.

Boyce chuckled. "Just wanted to check how you are, Kirk."

A familiar female snort was the answer to that. "Yeah, right. You know perfectly well that I'm in here, Doctor Boyce", Leah McCoy said. "You're worse than the nurses."

Boyce laughed. "Good morning to you too, Doctor McCoy."

"Wanna come in?" she asked with annoyance in her voice.

"That depends - are you decent?"

Leah snorted again and Boyce heard Jim laugh.

"That's not an answer", Boyce teased.

"I've got still 30 minutes until my shift starts", Leah replied.

"Still not an answer."

"So override the lock", she said annoyed.

Boyce let out a laugh. "No thanks, I have no intentions to accidentally see my best doctor naked."

Another snort. This time a really annoyed one. "I'm _not_ naked", came in an higher pitch of her voice.

"Ah! See, that's a proper answer", Boyce gave back amused.

"You don't have to be naked to be in bed, of course", Jim threw in casually.

" _Jim!_ "

"What?" Jim asked innocently.

Boyce laughed. He was really tempted so tease them further and find out how together they already were. His money was on full-on-couple. But he didn't want to stretch it too far. He was already pleased with the outcome of this conversation - something had _definitely_ changed between Jim Kirk and Leah McCoy. He pondered if he should tell Christopher Pike and tease him with the news or if he should wait until the picture was complete.

"Well, I'll be on my way then", Boyce finally said. "Doctor McCoy, I expect an update on Kirk's file in two hours on my desk."

"Yes, Sir."

 

 

***

 

 

_Behind the door_

 

Leah McCoy awoke by the feeling of a hand roaming over her body. The sound escaping her lips was half a moan of pleasure, half a sigh in annoyance. "I'm _not_ having sex with you in the hospital, Jim", she murmured, when his hand trailed south and she felt his hardness against her ass. He spooned against her.

Jim chuckled and kissed her neck. "You didn't protest, when I was doing this last night, Bones."

"You just _can't_ keep your hand to yourself, can you?" Now Leah smiled and sighed contentedly.

"I just thought I give you a nice start in the day if we can't do more at this point." But to tease her he moved his hands into the other direction and let it rest at the swell of her breasts, making her shiver from the light touched of his fingers.

"Be patient, Darlin'." Leah shifted, so she was laying on her back and could look him in the eyes. "When you're released I'll take a few days off and we can... _explore_ our new relationship."

"I like that plan", he grinned and leaned over to kiss her.

She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around him, avoiding to touch the remainders of his injuries. When they parted again after some kisses that grew quite steamy she glanced at his vitals on the screen.

"See? Already almost too much so short after such a severe trauma to your body. We may be in the 23rd century, but medicine and technology can only do that much. Your body needs time to heal, Jim."

He sighed. "I know... I'm impatient. I feel that everything's healing fine, I can move better... but I also feel tired and sore and... okay, I admit, that I'd probably fall over if I tried to get to the bathroom alone."

That made Leah laugh and her light laughing made him look at her full of affection. He balanced carefully and reached out to gently slide a strand of hair from her cheek. "Can't I keep you here, Bones? Do you really have to go to your shift?"

"Yes."

Jim sighed again.

"I'll spend my lunch break with you and will be here right after my shift."

"Is there a chance for me being discharged today? Or Tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. "I mean, the worst is healed. The regens took care of the superficial wounds. And the pain's better."

Leah reciprocated his movements and gently stroked his hair with one hand. "Be patient, Darlin'. You need to be monitored for one or two days. But I'll talk to Boyce. Maybe I can convince him to release you into my care."

Jim chuckled. "I think I already am in your care, Bones." He leaned in for another kiss and the two of them barely noticed, the beeping sound from the door.

"Mr. Kirk, this is Philipp Boyce, are you awake?" Philipp Boyce's voice sounded through the com.

Leah automatically broke the kiss, startled by the voice of her mentor.

Jim groaned. "Nooo... not now..."

Leah just looked at him pondering what to do.

"Ignore him", Jim said.

"Cadet Kirk, rise and shine", Boyce spoke again.

Leah rolled her eyes and pressed the button of the com for Jim.

Jim let out a disapproving moan. "What?"

A chuckled sounded. "Just wanted to check how you are, Kirk."

Now Leah snorted, not caring about what Boyce might say. She'd been prepared to someone disturbing them anyway. And she knew that her mentor or the nurses had to know that she'd spent the night in Jim's room. "Yeah, right. You know perfectly well that I'm in here, Doctor Boyce", Leah said. "You're worse than the nurses."

Boyce laughed. "Good morning to you too, Doctor McCoy."

"Wanna come in?" she asked with annoyance in her voice.

Jim grinned and tried to stay silent.

"That depends - are you decent?" Boyce asked back.

Leah snorted again and now Jim laughed.

"That's not an answer", Boyce teased.

"I've got still 30 minutes until my shift starts", Leah replied.

Which Jim took as a cue and started moving a hand under her shirt again. She glared at him and had a hard time to concentrate.

"Still not an answer", Boyce said.

Still glaring at Jim and getting a little payback as well as probing what Boyce would do, she said: "So override the lock."

Jim froze for a moment, contemplating if she'd really said that.

They heard Boyce laugh. "No thanks, I have no intentions to accidentally see my best doctor naked."

Jim grinned.

Leah let out an annoyed snort. "I'm _not_ naked", she protested in a higher pitch of her voice.

Which Jim took now as a cue to make her shirt slide up and expose her breasts. She squirmed a little - startled by Jim acting like this with Boyce outside and getting aroused by the movements of Jim's hands at the same time.

"Ah! See, that's a proper answer", Boyce gave back amused.

"You don't have to be naked to be in bed, of course", Jim threw in casually, working on getting more of Leah's skin free from the shirt.

" _Jim!_ " She glared at him for saying that. Maybe for what he was doing with and to her, too.

"What?" he asked innocently.

And it occurred to Leah immediately, that Boyce had no idea what was going on. But he laughed. Apparently he simply assumed they were bantering as usual.

Sort of true. But with some physical action now.

"Well, I'll be on my way then", Boyce finally said. "Doctor McCoy, I expect an update on Kirk's file in two hours on my desk."

Leah barely managed not to moan and answer in a normal voice. "Yes, Sir."

She sighed relieved at the beep that signaled the end of the com connection. Then she gave in and threw her head back in the pillow as Jim lowered his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth. " _Jim_..." she moaned and tried to keep a clear head. "I need to get ready for my shift now. Got about 25 minutes. I need a shower."

He locked their eyes and grinned. "That sounds like a great idea."

Leah rolled with her eyes and pulled her shirt down. "That wasn't an invitation."

"But I need a shower, too." Jim smirked. "Or should I call a nurse later?" He gave her a provoking look. "I _will_."

She rolled her eyes again and got out of bed. "Unbelievable... I'll prepare everything and help you into the bathroom. But you behave in the shower."

Jim grinned again and looked at her intensely. "Where's the fun in that, Bones?"

She just sighed and activated the com to inform the head nurse that she'd be late for her shift. Maybe she could do something to wipe that smug smirk of Jim Kirk's face.


	8. Home

So, Leah Helena McCoy actually _did_ wipe that smug smirk off of James Tiberius Kirk's face. She'd meant it when she'd said no sex in the hospital. But... well... rules could be bent. Which meant: Leah showed him in the shower what her hands and mouth could do.

Later, she returned for her lunch break and they had lunch together. G-rated.

But when Leah entered Jim's room after her shift the bed was empty and the view screens were shut off.  "Jim?" she asked although it's was very clear that he wasn't here anymore. She went to the com panel and activated it. "McCoy to Boyce."

"Yes?" his voice replied immediately.

"Did you move Jim Kirk to another room?"

"Didn't he tell you?"

Getting a notion Leah rolled her eyes. "Tell me what?"

"He talked me into releasing him. He said you would tend to him."

Leah put her hands on her hips and mouthed some curses she didn't want her mentor to hear.

"I take it he didn't tell you?"

Leah rolled her eyes again at the amusement in Boyce's voice. "No, he didn't", she sighed. "But I should have known he'd do something like that. He was getting impatient."

Boyce chuckled. "And why's that?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Of course, Leah knew exactly what he was getting at, but ignored it. "Because he's Jim Kirk", she gave as a neutral answer. "And he thinks he's already well enough to be out of the hospital."

"Well, he's not entirely wrong about that last part."

Leah snorted. "Barely. You said yourself this morning you wanted to keep him here for at least another night."

"I did", Boyce replied and laughed. "But he can be very persuasive with his nagging. And he assured me that you'd make sure he was alright and taking his meds."

Leah shook her head and tried to not roll her eyes this time.  She ran a hand over her forehead.

"We both know that he'll be fine. And..." He chuckled again. "... the two of you will be more comfortable in one of your dorm rooms."

Leah froze for a moment and felt her pulse increasing. She blushed. Why the hell was she blushing? "Of course I'll have to play his personal 24-hour-physician now", she gave back and tried to be just annoyed as usual when Jim Kirk did something stupid.

It didn't work on Boyce. "Remember the conversation with Captain Pike and me yesterday in the floor?"

"Yes?"

"See it now?"

And there was the eye rolling again. _I see_ \- Pike's words. An allusion to her feelings. Probably they knew about her new relationship with Jim, too.  And yet she said: "I don't know what you mean, Doctor Boyce."

He laughed again. "Oh, my dear Leah, denial isn't a river in Egypt."

"I'm going now. My shifts over. I need to check on Jim. God knows what he's doing unsupervised."

"See you on monday, Doctor McCoy. Have a _nice_ weekend", Boyce said and cut the connection.

Leah put her hand on her hips again and exhaled sharply. "Dammit, Jim..." She turned around and started walking.

 

 

***

 

 

Captain Christopher Pike sat already at the counter of the bar when Doctor Philipp Boyce arrived. He ordered the usual.

"So?" Pike asked.

"The kid's in her dorm room now", the doctor replied with a big grin. "And she was the whole night with him. Again. Like in New York. But this time with a privacy lock on the door."

"Doesn't have to mean anything", Pike replied. He still wanted to win the bet.

"She was late for her shift, even though I talked to her - both of them - before."

"Well, It's been some rough days for them and she jumped right into her work again. Next week she'll also have to pick up her classes at the Academy again."

"I think she jumped right in bed with Jim Kirk", Boyce said with a wink.

Pike laughed.

"And I overheard some of the nurses. Apparently, one of them hit on Kirk when McCoy was in the room. He told the nurse that Leah was his fiancée. No need to do that here if it's not true", Boyce added.

"Just circumstantial evidence."

Laughing Boyce shook his head. "I don't think so, Chris." He patted him on the shoulder. "I think you owe me and the Mrs. a nice dinner."

"You know what? If they're really together, there's nothing I'd rather do. I'd even invite them too." He winked at his friend.

Boyce laughed again. "Almost tempting to see them interact as a couple. But we don't want to scare them off, won't we?"

Now Pike laughed too. "So, only the three of us then."

"Four", Boyce grinned.

Pike rolled his eyes. "You're not letting that go, are you?"

"No. I want to meet your Number One properly and introduce to my wife." He took a zip of his drink. "And about Kirk and McCoy - I think we'll find out soon what's going on there. "

 

 

***

 

 

Without asking Leah knew of course in which of their dorm rooms Jim was. So, when she entered hers she saw Jim in her bed, popped up against the head board.

"Honey, you're home", he greeted her playfully.

She gave him a glare. "You're an idiot, Jim."

He just smiled. "I love you, too."

Leah put down her bag and some food she picked up. She took off her jacket, kicked away her shoes and went over to the bed. With another glare she sat down. "I thought you were done with the irresponsible things", she said in a soft voice and gently stroked over his cheek. "At least for a while."

Jim chuckled and reached out pulling her into his arms. She let him and laid down, putting her head carefully on his left shoulder.

"I don't like surprises like this one", she sighed. "You could have at least told me, Darlin'. I came into an empty room and first assumed they'd moved you to another room for some reason."

"I wanted to comm you in the hospital, but the nurse said you were already on your way home. I guess, I had the timing wrong."

Leah couldn't help herself but to smile at this whole situation. She shifted so she could look at him. "How did you get here? And more importantly, how did you get _in_?"

He grinned. "I talked them into using the hospital's transporter to beam me directly into the room. So I didn't need the code for the door... Which I know, by the way."

Before Leah could say anything, let alone ask how he knew it, he slid a hand in her neck and pulled her into a long and gentle kiss.

She let the topic go for the moment. "Dinner? I picked up some food. And I brought your meds."

"Oh, yes. Real non-hospital food." He grinned and ignored the last sentence.

Leah attempted to get up, but Jim didn't let her go. "The food's getting cold."

"Just five minutes..." he replied and kissed her again.


	9. The ring

The next morning Leah managed to get out of bed without waking Jim up. She went to his dorm room and picked up a few things.

It was a little weird. It almost felt as if they'd already were living together. She wondered, how things did speed up like this.

An hour later Leah returned to her room with a bag of Jim's stuff and another bag of groceries. She was surprised when she saw Jim sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a thin blanket and holding a cup.

"What are you doing out of bed, Jim?"

"Good morning to you too, Bones", he grinned and took a zip of coffee.

Leah put down the bags. "And how did you get this coffee? You shouldn't drink that. Tea would be better as long as you are on those meds."

She sat down next to him, took the cup out of his hands and drank from it.

"Hey, that's mine", Jim protested.

She looked to the kitchenette where ground coffee was scattered around. Then she turned her glance back to Jim and raised an eyebrow.

"But I managed to make some coffee", he replied to her accusing look.

She shook her head. "You really shouldn't be up and running around when you're alone, Darlin'. You should've waited for me."

"I know... But you would've only made me tea." He winked.

"Of course, I would have." Leah took the last zip and put the empty cup on the couch table. "How are you feeling?"

"Still a little weak. But I can walk around alone now. Need to work on doing things in the kitchen without trembling and scattering stuff around." He winked.

She chuckled and leaned over to kiss him. Of course, he took advantage, pulled her into his arms and against him. She startled a little and was afraid being pressed against him like that would hurt him. The regens had fully healed his skin, but internally his body still needed to catch up.

"I'm fine", Jim whispered against her lips knowing exactly what she was thinking in this moment.

Leah relaxed against him, but tried to support her weight with her arms against the back of the couch.

Jim noticed her attempt to favor his healing injuries, but grew a little impatient again. So, he decided to surprise her und to show that still feeling weak didn't mean that she had to protect him like that. He had enough strength to grab her waist with both hands, lift her and pull her onto his lap so she was straddling him.

She gasped in surprise, then gave him a glare. " _Jim!_ You need to _rest_." But she didn't move, just made sure she supported her own weight on her bent legs. Actually... it was really nice being close to him like that.

He chuckled and ran both hands along her waist over the small of her back to her ass.

"No", she simply said.

Jim's hands wandered up her back and he drew her closer. "You said not in the hospital. We're not in the hospital anymore."

"But you're still recovering", Leah reminded him. "And we're certainly not horny teenagers."

He winked at her. "Speak for yourself."

Leah rolled her eyes. "What have I gotten myself into?"

Jim kissed her again. And again. And again. Behaving himself and keeping his hands on her back.

Leah lost track of time and she didn't care.  But the doctor mode came back online some time later. "I need to give you the hypos", she said. "And have you eaten something?"

Jim shook his head. "Coffee and a mess was all I could manage."

She chuckled and carefully got up. "Meds. Breakfast. Shower. Bed. Sleep", she said firmly. And it was clear that there was no room for negotiations.

 

***

 

By sunday evening Leah allowed Jim to be up and walking around. He was fine, but she was still worried he did too much to soon. And monday morning, well, Leah woke up to a surprise.

She was alone in bed and heard the shower. For a moment she was worried about Jim being alone in the bathroom. She wasn't sure if his circulatory system could handle standing more than five minutes under hot water.

But she decided against following him. She snuggled back into the pillow and was about to close her eyes again when her gaze met a little black box on the night stand.

She blinked and her brain needed a few moments to process. Little. Black. _Jewelry_ box.

Leah's eyes widened, she shifted and she popped herself up on her elbows. She stared at the tiny item. Hesitating she reached out, took the box and slowly opened it.

A delicate silver ring with a sparkling diamond appeared and her mouth fell open. James T. Kirk had somehow managed to buy her an engagement ring.

"So, what's your answer?"

Startled, Leah looked up and to the bathroom door. Jim was dressed in sweatpants and an Academy shirt. He leaned against the door frame and smiled.

"You can't..." she started and had a hard time finding words. "This is... Dammit, Jim, you can't just propose to me. You're still recovering and maybe not be thinking clearly."

He chuckled, stepped to the bed and sat down.

Leah shifted and sat up straight, still holding the open box and looking him in the eyes. "Okay, we're in a relationship now. But you can't just go from being a womanizer to be suddenly engaged... to me."

Jim cupped her face with his left hand. "Yes, I can. Didn't we have this conversation already? I'm madly in love with you, Bones." He smiled and gave her a serious look. "I love you", he repeated. "And when I heard people talking about you as my fiancée I wanted it to be real. Me asking you a few days ago wasn't a fluke." He reached for the box, took the ring and put the box aside. "You told me I could ask you again when I'm out of the hospital and had a good night's sleep. I even waited _two_ nights."

Leah still stared at him, her heart was racing. "I said a night in _your_ dorm room", she managed to say and regain at least in part her usual quick-witted tone, a slight smile on her lips.

"I like _your_ bed better." Jim winked, still holding the ring between three fingers. With the other hand he took now her left hand, ready to slide it on her the ring finger. "So..." he picked up his question, "Leah Helena McCoy, will you marry me?"


	10. The answer

"Leah Helena McCoy, will you marry me?"

"You're still totally crazy, you know that?" Leah repeated her words from Starfleet Medical.

"Is that a yes?"

She wasn't sure at all if marriage was something she should jump into... if Jim was cut out to be a fiancée and a husband... or she herself.

But... She took a deep breath and smiled. "Yes."

Jim slid the ring on her finger and pulled her into a steamy kiss.  His hands started roaming and a few moments later Leah found herself flat on her back and Jim on top of her. She didn't know if she should be impressed that he was obviously almost back to his old form or if she should give into the urge to tell him again not to overwork his still recovering body.

And she remembered something between kisses and the very distracting movements of his hands which were working on getting her naked. "I need to get to the hospital. I'm still on a hospital rotation until Wednesday. Then my Academy classes start again."

"No hospital today", Jim whispered against the skin of her exposed belly. Skillfully he slid her shirt further up and got it over her head. His own shirt was gone a moment later.

"But-" Leah started.

Jim cut her words off with a kiss and their pants were next to go.

" _Jim_..." she gasped.

"Called them... told them you're out sick today..."

Leah tried to get a clear head again. " _What_?" she shrieked - and involuntarily moaned, when one of his hands wandered south. Her hips reacted instinctively. " _Jim_ , you can't just c-"

Another kiss.

"Yes, I can. And I did." He smiled against her lips.

Leah gasped when he started trailing kisses along her neck down to her breasts. She felt his hard cock against her clit. Coherent thoughts were almost out of the window by now. "But they'll think..."

"... that you're having hot sex with your fiancé all day? Well, they'd be absolutely right." He smirked.

Now she blushed. They were already in the middle of having sex, but those words made her blush. "You told them again I'm your fiancée, didn't you?" Leah somehow managed to speak in her usual I-can't-believe-it-voice.

"I knew you would say yes, Bones", he replied in a low whisper that sent shivers of pleasure through her body.

He positioned himself and guided his cock into her. They both gasped and moaned at the sensation.

"I think this accident may be the best thing that could have happened to me", Jim breathed and started moving. "Don't know how long we would've danced around each other."

He shifted slightly and made Leah moan deeply. She wrapped her legs around his waist drawing him deeper inside.

"Do that never again, I don't want to see you _ever_ injured like that again", she demanded and her breath came in short gasps now.

"Promise..." he gave back, also gasping and speeding up his pace. " _Bones_..."

The orgasm hit Leah so fast it took her completely by surprise. And Jim smirked, of course. Nevertheless she noticed how this physical activity was taking a toll on his body. But she had a few tricks up her sleeve - and before he knew what was happening, she managed to get him on his back and was on top of him with his cock still inside her.

Jim looked at her startled - now she was the one smirking. His hands trailed to her waist and she began riding him. She felt another orgasm building up and when she came she took Jim with her over the edge.

A while later when Leah was snuggled against Jim's left side and her head was resting on his chest he suddenly asked out of the blue in an almost casual voice: "Did you know that Pike and Boyce made a bet about us becoming a couple?"

Leah's head shot up and she rolled her eyes. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Jim chuckled, slid a hand to her neck and pulled his fiancée into a kiss. "We could make them squirm a little", he whispered conspiratorially.

She laughed. "Hell, they'd deserve it. But I'm way too happy to pretend to be not."

He was about to say something, but she shook her head.

"I know what you have in mind, Darlin'. You want them to think we're neither a couple nor engaged and only tell them the truth after you'd made them sweat a little. We're _not_ doing that."

"Oh, come on", Jim protested. "I heard them talking in front of my hospital room. They were pretty sure of themselves. Boyce assumed we'd get together in the hospital, Pike bet it would happen after I'd be released."

Leah sighed. "I won't let you run around pretending to go after other women or pretending myself that I'm heartbroken or angry just to get back on them for the bet."

"Bones..."

"No."

" _Bones_..." he now whispered seductively and his hands wandered over her body giving her goose bumps again.

"Still no", she answered and gasped due to what he was doing. "You won't change my mind." Another gasp.

He chuckled and slowly pushed her on her back and settled between her legs. "Not trying to." He kissed her again. "Got another idea."

Leah tried to concentrate. "And that would be?"

"Maybe they'll be even more shocked when we ask Pike to perform the ceremony."

His hand and his mouth were now everywhere.

" _What?_ " Leah managed between moans and gasps.

"An engagement usually leads to a wedding", Jim teased. "Imagine their faces when we tell them we've already set a date."

She grabbed his roaming hands to get a minute of being able to think straight again. "Are you serious?" she asked him surprised. She'd definitely not expected him to move that fast from friends to engagement to actual marriage.

"Doesn't have to be this week or this month, but..." Supporting his weight on one elbow Jim gently pushed a strain of hair from her face. "...this year? I always was careless and reckless and I got away with it. But... the accident made me realize that life's too short."

He locked their gazes and Leah could see how vulnerable and honest about his feelings he was in this moment.

"I don't want to waste any more time, Bones", he whispered.

"Alright", she simply said in a gently voice and reached out to stroke his hair. "But no haste, okay? You got me, Darlin'. I'm going nowhere. I love you and I'm completely yours. Let's just figure out how to be a couple. Let's settle into everyday life and just savor being engaged for a while..." She smiled warmly. "How about an autumn wedding? In like seven months? Or perhaps Christmas time."

Jim smiled, almost grinned, happily. "Deal."

He lowered his lips onto hers and his hands started moving again. There was no more talking for quite a while.


	11. Stunned faces

Leah returned to the hospital the next morning and started her shift as usual. She noticed some nurses and doctors suddenly stop talking or whispering when she walked by. It was obviously about Jim and her. But although she was wearing the ring either they didn't notice or didn't dare to ask her about it.

Around lunch time Leah was standing with PADD at the nurse's counter and updating some files when Captain Christopher Pike and Doctor Philipp Boyce came around the corner.

"Ah, Doctor McCoy", Pike greeted her. "How's Kirk?"

"And how are you? Well again today?" Boyce added and winked.

"He's almost fully healed now, Sir", she answered. "And I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

Pike smiled knowingly about her supposed sick day. Then he noticed something sparkle at her hand. His lips parted in surprise. He looked at Leah, then at Boyce, then at Leah again. Boyce also saw the ring.

"Yes?" Leah tilted her head and couldn't hide a little smirk, still holding the PADD up and thereby displaying the piece of jewelry.

"You..." Boyce cleared his throat. "You seem to have had an interesting weekend."

"Ask if you have a question", she retorted dryly and added a polite "Sir".

Boyce laughed. "Okay. Point taken. So, Leah, is this an engagement ring, by any chance?"

She kept holding the PADD with her right hand and raised her left hand drawing even more attention to the ring. "Maybe." She grinned.

"Definitely", the voice of Jim Kirk sounded.

Pike and Boyce turned around in surprise. Slowly Jim Kirk walked over to them and stepped next to Leah, sliding an arm around her waist.

"You've got good taste, Kirk", Boyce remarked. "In women and in jewelry."

Leah put the PADD on the counter and crossed her arms while Jim still had a hand on her waist. "So, you must be wondering who won the bet."

Pike and Boyce stared at her.

Jim grinned and reveled in seeing them completely shocked and startled. Again. "Yes, we know about that", he added.

Leah laughed. "And yes, we're engaged for real now."

Smiles spread over the faces of Boyce and Pike.

"Congratulations", Pike simply said.

Boyce chuckled. "Heaven help us all."

Leah raised an eyebrow. "Says the man who won the bet."

Boyce's expression showed surprise again. "Really?"

"Really", Leah and Jim said in unison.

Then Jim looked to the captain. "You might wanna keep your schedule for October and November light, Captain Pike. There's no exact date yet, but we want you to officiate."

Pike stared at them, then glanced at Boyce. "Phil, I am hallucinating?"

Boyce laughed. Leah and Jim did too.

Pike smiled warmly. "It would be an honor."

In the meanwhile the medical personal had gathered in a polite distance from the four. The nurses and doctors could only hear bits and pieces, but one thing was unmistakably clear on display: Jim sliding his free hand into Leah's neck and pulling her into a kiss. And something sparkly at the left hand.

The spectators erupted in cheers and some whistles.

Half an hour later a picture of the kiss was circulating the com system of Starfleet Medical and Starfleet Academy. The news spread like a wildfire: James T. Kirk was officially off the market and engaged to Leah H. McCoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it :) The end. I hope you enjoyed this fic. Thanks for reading, the Kudos and the comments :)
> 
> By the way - I realized somewhere along chapter 4 or 5 that I ignored/forgot Bones beeing divorced. But I decided against working it in. So, in this AU the doctor simply wasn't married before.


End file.
